How do your cure spells work?

[WD40]

So, the cleric wanders up to the wounded fighter, and says some magic words/preys to his god, and *poof* all the fighters wounds vanish.

This seems to be the stereotypical way that Cure spells are seen to work.

But I don't like it.

It seems to uphold the idea that a PC's Hit Points are like the 'Life' bar in a Video game, that every successful roll that beats AC represents a thwack with a weapon that leaves a wound.

The way I like to run my games, if a monster beats one of my players AC, I may say something like: "Your opponent pushes forward with a crazed rush of blows... Loose 5 HP." As opposed to: "The greataxe connects, you take 5 HP damage."

So if HP represent a PC's Skill, Stamina and Luck (LOL Ian Jackson Reference!) as much as if not more than they represent layers of flesh, thickness of bone and sturdiness of vital organs, perhaps Cure spells should be represented in a similar light.

I don't think a Cleric who casts a cure spell should lay his hands on and apply some kind of ethereal styptic & sutures, he should something like: "[Insertgodhere] blesses you and your efforts, may you fight on!" and the PC suddenly feels empowered to continue the battle now with a Divine blessing.

What do you think? How do your cure spells work?

 

[Nifft]

Hit Points are like the 'Life' bar in a Video game, that every successful roll that beats AC represents a thwack with a weapon that leaves a wound.

Why does clause 1 imply clause 2?

(And didn't HP actually precede the "life bar" in video games?)

Cheers, -- N

 

[Kahuna Burger]

I've never bought into the "you can lose HP without being injured" idea, if for no other reason than it makes secondary effects silly. So just go with damage as physical damage and magical healing as being magicly healed of your wounds. If you can pull off the abstract hp on a regular basis, then healing as invigoration could work, but its not for me.

 

[WD40]

Why does clause 1 imply clause 2?

(And didn't HP actually precede the "life bar" in video games?)

Cheers, -- N

I could prolly phrase that better....

The two were separate observations...

I'm not sure if D&D is older then video games, but it most certainly is older than videogames with life bars.

I'll expand:

The smaller your life bar, the more wounds you have.. when you have too many wounds, you pass out... This has been my experience with the representation of HP in D&D.

Surely it's possible, and in my opinion, more probable, that a PC could have 1 HP remaining, and not a scratch on him.. The next effect that deals 1hp of damage or more simply represents the effect the PC wasn't expecting, the end of his luck, or a big orc with a big club cracking open his skull with a single clean shot.

This has been covered many times, I'm sure, but in reality (Wait.. don't get panicky, the comparison is fleeting!) if one gets shot with a crossbow, one dies... Sure there are exceptions, but this seems to pretty much be the rule...

EG: 1st level Rogue + 1 Successful crossbow hit = 1 dead rogue.

Why then, can a 6th level rogue sustain several hits? Is his physiology adequately transformed through his absorption of EXP-Radiation so that he can now sustain several crossbow bolts before expiring? Or can one crossbow bolt still kill him outright, but he is now smart and battle-weary enough to know to keep the hell out of a crossbow bolts way?

I don't the idea that Fighters are walking around as pincushions, with arrows sticking out of them in all sorts of uncomfortable places.. (Because there are comfortable places for arrows to be sticking out of... -.- ) wandering up to a cleric, saying: "Heal PLZ." *Wavy hands, magic words, POOF arrows are still there, but no longer causing a problem.*

I prefer that a Fighter looks to his cleric for spiritual guidance and knowledge that there is a greater power looking out for him, and with that knowledge, that faith, he is better able to keep the hell out of the arrows way..

 

[blargney the second]

There's a nicely paved middle road down there somewhere.

 

[Tonguez]

I conceive of healing being not only external but internal. Not only are the wounds healed but the stress and fatigue suffered is also lifted, toxins are expelled and the recepient is generally 'renewed' and invigorated

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

This is how I conceive of HP
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/ExpUndermountain_Gallery/ExpUndermountain13.jpg
Losing HP is being wounded and when you beat AC the attack connects. Things with lots of HP(like high-level characters) are unnaturally tough. When the cleric comes along and heals you he heals real injuries that would have splattered ordinary nobodies across the landscape, the character survived because this isn't real life and they're not an ordinary nobody.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

Surely it's possible, and in my opinion, more probable, that a PC could have 1 HP remaining, and not a scratch on him.. The next effect that deals 1hp of damage or more simply represents the effect the PC wasn't expecting, the end of his luck, or a big orc with a big club cracking open his skull with a single clean shot.

"The assassin's bolt barely misses you as you throw yourself off balance to dodge. Take 12 hp and make a DC 15 fort save."
"Huh, fort save against what?"
"The bolt was poisoned."
"But you said it missed me!"
"Well, dramaticly it missed you but it was a sucessful attack roll that dealt damage, so the poison comes into play."
"Oh so I guess dramaticly the poison, what, flew off the tip and splattered in my eye?"
"Fine, the bolt grazes your arm, it is only a light scratch but you feel the wound burn.... NOW take 12 hp and make a DC 15 fort save!"
"You know, I'm totally OK with you just saying 'they hit' if you want...."

Replace poison with stunning fist, crippling strike, various fun undead abilities.... Not to mention that there are game mechanics such as DR and concealment that very definitively represent blows that couldn't penetrate and lucky misses.

This has been covered many times, I'm sure, but in reality (Wait.. don't get panicky, the comparison is fleeting!) if one gets shot with a crossbow, one dies... Sure there are exceptions, but this seems to pretty much be the rule...

Maybe I'm a little leggy, but I'd say there's a good 50% of my surface area where I could take a direct impact from a crossbow bolt without dying, to say nothing of glancing blows. (Perhaps this is the direction in which Blargney's middle road leads?)

I prefer that a Fighter looks to his cleric for spiritual guidance and knowledge that there is a greater power looking out for him, and with that knowledge, that faith, he is better able to keep the hell out of the arrows way..

But what if its a formerly raging barbarian who needs the healing?

"The cleric spends his last rationed amount of spiritual guidance with a touch range on you and you feel the fatigue of battle slip away. You regain 17 hp."
"So I'm not Fatigued anymore? Cool!"
"Huh, oh, no, you still have the Fatigue from raging, you were just healed of the fatigue and stress of near misses with arrows."
"You know, I'm totally OK with you just saying 'he heals you' if you want..."

 

[Fifth Element]

"The assassin's bolt barely misses you as you throw yourself off balance to dodge. Take 12 hp and make a DC 15 fort save."
"Huh, fort save against what?"
"The bolt was poisoned."
"But you said it missed me!"
"Well, dramaticly it missed you but it was a sucessful attack roll that dealt damage, so the poison comes into play."
"Oh so I guess dramaticly the poison, what, flew off the tip and splattered in my eye?"
"Fine, the bolt grazes your arm, it is only a light scratch but you feel the wound burn.... NOW take 12 hp and make a DC 15 fort save!"
"You know, I'm totally OK with you just saying 'they hit' if you want...."

Er, yeah. Maybe the DM knows there's poison on it and so doesn't describe it as a shot that misses? Problem solved.

OP's idea had some merit given how hit points have been described and defended over the years as being more than just physical stamina. By, like, people who write D&D.

Obviously it can't be 100% one way or the other, but I like OP's idea and may use it in the future, to represent some part of cure spells.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

Er, yeah. Maybe the DM knows there's poison on it and so doesn't describe it as a shot that misses? Problem solved.

OP's idea had some merit given how hit points have been described and defended over the years as being more than just physical stamina. By, like, people who write D&D.

Obviously it can't be 100% one way or the other, but I like OP's idea and may use it in the future, to represent some part of cure spells.

Surely it's possible, and in my opinion, more probable, that a PC could have 1 HP remaining, and not a scratch on him..

What I was responding to was in fact 100% one way, hence my response.